Turn Up The Bass Volume 1 (1989)

Martin van Zeelandt / TCD

2 days ago

4 min read

Turn Up The Bass Volume 1 CD Cover Front

The year is 1989. I was only 6 years old. I had absolutely no clue on what was happening in the world, I was so much more focussed on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and was still enjoying M.A.S.K. (who remembers that show, eh?). While I was still just a kid, a world outside of my bedroom was all focussed on this new world, a new scene emerged, and it grew in popularity. It already existed in 1989, but it certainly grew in the public's perspective even more. It was House music. And as most would do, labels started to release CDs, to capture this new trend, and Arcade was one of those, who released a series called 'Turn Up The Bass'.

The series lasted a long time, longer than I expected, and even got revived a few times. But to me, it all stopped after 1992. 3 years of awesomeness, and it's all down to my father. He got me into this music, and made me a raver for life. He knew about this new form of music, and he was the OG in our household. Mum never understood it, but dad did. He even got mum to buy this album as a present, and many TUTB albums after. This one was the first of many, and as a young kid, the first thing you do, is ''borrow'' it, to never give it back. He didn't buy it in 1989, maybe in 1991/1992, but during those years I've listened to this on repeat, and can still dream the whole album.

Arcade was onto something, and it set a precedent for future releases on this label: if it makes enough money, they would jump on everything that even resembled a trend. Remember Hardcore in the 90s? They released so many albums, you cannot count them all. House? They certainly jumped on that too (TUTB, House Party), and many other styles/genres too. Obviously, due to the amount of CDs released, it killed everything, the overkill became obnoxious, and the quality went downhill. But in 1989, it would not be obvious that Arcade would go down that route.

TUTB was the big one for me. Not my first CD or single (which were 'James Brown Is Dead' by L.A. Style, and 'Yabba Dabba Dance', also released on Arcade), but certainly the first one I borrowed from my dad, and only gave back roughly 5 years ago. Scratched beyond belief. But music is to be shared, right?

It is a nostalgic album. How music changed after this CD. And this album is (to me) slightly underrated. These songs you certainly don't hear anywhere anymore, but they were my life during the 90s. It made me venture into Techno, and from Techno and House, it opened my ears up to something called 'Gabber' a.k.a. Hardcore House/Techno. And 30+ years later, I'm still in love with it all. But it all boils down to this CD. And probably the most basic looking cover ever.

No short edits, just full length records. Those were the days, right?

Ten City - That's The Way Love Is
Tyree - Turn Up The Bass
Amnesia - Ibiza
Hithouse - Jack To The Sound Of The Underground
A Split Second - Flesh
Mac Sample - House Inspector
Samantha Fox - Love House (Acid Remix)
D. Mob feat Gary Haisman - We Call It Acieed
Reese & Santonio - Rock To The Beat
Sample Syndicate - TBM Mix 2
The Residents - Kaw-Liga
Joe Smooth - Promised Land
Jamie Principle - Baby Wants To Ride
Brandon Cook feat Roxanne Shante - Sharp As A Knife

If you weren't born in the 80s or before, and you've never heard of this CD series before, or know of these tracks, I do feel for you. You are missing out on some hidden gems. If you want to know a bit more about Acid House, New Beat, or House from the late 80s, maybe start with this CD. It gives you a glimpse on how the music was back in the day.

37 years later, this album still rocks. Not just from a nostalgic point of view, but the tracks were great too. Not all of them. There are still some shitty records on here, for which I'm glad they've been buried and hidden away for the whole world to NOT hear them anymore. 'TBM Mix 2' is such a shit record, and I'm still not 100% convinced 'Kaw-Liga' is a good record. It's just f**king weird one. I wonder how much substances they were when they made this record. Probably loads.

But then you have to acknowledge the hits. 'Jack To The Sound Of The Underground', 'Promised Land', 'Baby Wants To Ride', and of course 'That's The Way Love Is'. Big hits. Even Samantha Fox made an appearance on this album. But, to me, 'We Call It Acieed' is the biggest, boldest, roughest, and toughest record of them all. And it is weird that the version on this CD isn't the one you hear anywhere else. Hence why this is my favourite song of this CD.

This is a memorable CD for me, and will go down as one of the greatest CDs of all time. It introduced me into this wonderful world, and I've embraced it ever since. I love it, and it always makes me happy when I hear it. Unfortunately, I have given it back to my dad, and we live miles away (different countries), so I have to rely on YouTube to show me a copy. And yesterday I found one, so I can share my happiness with all of you!

The only wish I have, is that Arcade re-releases their whole catalogue online, that would be amazing to rediscover a few of those hidden gems which we've not heard or seen in years!